(Agriculture.com) – With Thursday’s CME Group farm markets closing higher, the question is being asked whether this is the start of late summer rally.
At the close, the Dec. corn futures settled 3 3/4 cents higher at $3.73.
Nov. soybean futures closed 9 1/4 cents higher at $10.56.
Sep. wheat futures closed 9 1/4 cents higher at $5.37.
Dec. soymeal futures closed $9.00 higher at $351.10. Dec. soyoil futures ended $0.46 lower at $33.86.
In the outside markets, the NYMEX Brent crude oil is $1.90 per barrel lower, the dollar is lower and the Dow Jones Industrials are 48 points higher.
Mike North, Senior Risk Advisor for First Capitol Ag, says the markets are trying to find a trend.
“Markets are conflicted with the hope of rain through the Midwest in the 5- day forecast as well as the hope of a late summer rally,” North says. The higher trade, in the face of the forecast, suggests that the hope of the rally is winning today. Like any other move, it will take more cash and more will of the buyers to allow this to continue,” North says.
Jack Scoville, PRICE Futures Group vice-president, says it will be interesting to see if the new crop prices can hold, now that the August contracts have expired.
“The export sales, this morning, were good and the domestic demand seems solid and the shorts are getting squeezed,” Scoville says.
The Funds are ‘long’ corn and ‘short’ soybean contracts. As a result, there is talk they are trying to push up the corn market, on the close.
“The funds might be trying to dress up the closes in corn, I have not heard that, but they might be as they are still a little long. Even so, though, I feel like we can pop a bit in it as the market has come down a lot and the harvest pressure is still a few weeks away,” he says.
Scoville adds, “I don’t look for much upside in these markets. But, farmers are not selling at these levels and maybe we need a small rally to shake some corn loose and then send the market to its final lows, where ever that may be. Wheat is also higher as it keeps raining in Europe. It was supposed to be drier this week, so some spec buying coming in.”
